


memories (of everything we've been through)

by AtLoLevad



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27167954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtLoLevad/pseuds/AtLoLevad
Summary: Tim gives his best man speech at Tony and Ziva's wedding.
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo & Timothy McGee, Ziva David & Timothy McGee, Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	memories (of everything we've been through)

Tony and Ziva get married on a gorgeous Saturday in early October.

It wasn't supposed to be a big wedding - just the team really and it was tentatively scheduled to be in Gibbs's backyard - until Tali learned just exactly what a traditional wedding entailed.

("A big party? With a big cake? And dancing? And I get to wear a fancy dress? Ima, Daddy, we have to have a big party!"

" _Motek_ , Daddy and I just want to have a little party in Gibbs's backyard, with the people we love"

"Yeah, but a big party! That would be so much fun, Ima! Right, Daddy?"

"She's got a point, Ziva...think about it, a big old party to show the whole world how much I love you."

"We do not even know enough people to fill a venue.")

Ziva caves easily, unwilling to admit that a big party did sound kind of fun, and they end up with a fairly decent sized crowd, including Tony's English relatives and friends and family they'd both lost touch with. (Nearly all their mutual friends and acquaintances reply to the invitation with some extra note along the lines of "FINALLY!")

Shmiel and Ziva's Aunt Nettie, both incredibly sharp despite their advanced ages, make the trip and completely fawn over Tali, much to the young girl's delight. She spends quite some time twirling in her fancy dress and showing off her fluency in Hebrew.

It turns out to be a truly lovely evening, full of food and laughter and dancing.

Their first dance as husband and wife starts with just the two of them, dancing in each other's arms to 'I'm Glad There Is You' and enjoying the private callback to their long history, but ends with Tali squished in between them, her feet on top of Tony's as they sway around the dance floor.

Gibbs even takes Ziva for a twirl around the dance floor, a modified version of the father-daughter dance. Tony watches as Gibbs leans down to whisper something in Ziva's ear, a bright smile blossoming on her face.

They'd originally decided that there was no need for speeches, as they were usually the worst part of any wedding, so both Tony and Ziva are surprised when the band leader cuts the music and introduces, "Tim McGee, the best man," to a round of polite applause and a wolf whistle from Nick Torres.

Tony whispers into Ziva's ear, "If he reads a passage from Deep Six, can we deep six him?"

A surprised laugh escapes Ziva's mouth and she shakes her head. "You are terrible. He is not going to reference Tommy and Lisa," her smile is soft and happy. The memory of Tim's book, written a lifetime ago and nearly forgotten to time, makes something warm stir in her chest.

Tim takes the stage and the microphone, smiling genuinely as he starts. "Hi everyone, for those of you that don't know me, I'm Tim McGee. I've known Tony since 2003 when I started as a probie on Gibbs's MCRT team and Ziva since 2005 when she became our liaison with Mossad. I know that they're each other's best friend, but I like to think that I complete them. Like that movie reference, Tony?"

He laughs as Tony calls back, "Just get to the speech, McTom Cruise."

"So, like I said, I've been there since the beginning of their story, their very long story," Tim continues.

"It has been that long, huh?" Ziva murmurs to her husband. Tony squeezes her hand in response.

"Now," Tim says, "Tony and Ziva back then, they were something else. Bickering all the time, teaming up to play pranks on me, shooting each other these insane glares at each other from across the bullpen. We all weren't sure if they'd kill each other or sleep together."

The guests laugh politely, even as Gibbs rolls his eyes at the memory of a 16-years-younger Tony and Ziva. They'd been a lot to deal with in those early years. Jimmy and Ducky laugh loudly, whispering to Nick, Ellie, and Kasie that those early years really had been something else.

("Once, they were locked in a shipping container together," Jimmy mutters, eyes sparkling.

Ellie's eyebrows shoot into her hairline. "And Tony made it out alive?"

Ducky pats her hand, "We were all surprised too, Eleanor.")

"It took them a long, long time to get to this point," Tim grins, shooting his best friends a wink. "And there's more backstory than we have time for tonight," his eyes get a little sad at the memory of the dark few years of Ziva's "death", but they clear as he continues, "we all knew that Tony and Ziva would get here, one way or another, if they had to burn the whole world down to do it."

Ziva tucks herself under Tony's arm, curling close to him, and he strokes a hand down her upper arm.

"It's true," he whispers into her hair, "it's always been true, from Somalia to Israel to everything in between. Ziva..." he trails off, getting emotional.

"I know, my love," she murmurs against his shirt. "I know."

On stage, Tim continues. "In those early days, if you asked those of us that were there, we'd all tell you a different point in time when we realised that what Tony and Ziva had was more than just a crush or lust," he grins at the newlyweds again. "I knew it when Tony started looking at Ziva after he told a joke or made a comment that he thought was funny. He always wanted to see if she was laughing or impressed by him. Tony's always been someone who likes a good joke or quippy comment and there were many in that orange bullpen. But once Ziva joined us, he ramped up the comedy act to 11. And Ziva? In her own quiet Mossad ninja way, she absolutely laughing with him. An exasperated eye roll often meant that she was trying hard to hide a genuine laugh."

"Always thought you were laughing at me, sweetcheeks," Tony quips.

Ziva wrinkles her nose. "Only sometimes," she teases.

"Ziva gave as good as she got though," McGee shakes his head. "She often had Tony speechless, which, if you know Tony, doesn't happen often," he pauses for laughter. "And as much as Tony pretended that Ziva's butchering of idioms exasperated him, he loved it. Their chemistry just was off the charts, which was incredibly uncomfortable for the rest of us, but made for a great romance both on the page and off."

("I knew it!" Tony hisses, grinning delightedly. "I knew he'd reference the book.")

"To Tony and Ziva, we love you and wish you nothing but peace and happiness from this moment forward," Tim toasts them, raising his champagne glass in the air before taking a sip.

Tony and Ziva raise their glasses to their friend and kiss sweetly when the guests knock their knives against their glasses.

The music starts up again and the dance floor fills up, guests young and old moving to the latest hit. Tim steps off the stage, making his way through the crowd and coming over to Tony and Ziva's table. He leans forward and kisses Ziva's cheek.

"Can't believe you guys made it," he says and up close both former agents can see that Tim's eyes are a little glassy, whether from emotions or alcohol is anyone's guess.

"Me either," Tony says sincerely, keeping an arm around Ziva's shoulder, and then continuing slyly, "Probie."

Tim rolls his eyes, but he's smiling. "I hate you," he shakes his head.

"No you don't," Tony sing-songs. "You just gave a very nice speech talking about how much you love me."

Ziva snorts.

"Or I gave a speech talking about how I knew you loved Ziva," Tim counters. "And how annoying it was being around you two in the early days."

Before either Tony or Ziva can respond, the band switches songs - beginning to play The Beatles' "With a Little Help from my Friends" - and Tony grins. "Hey, I love this song. Let's dance," he grabs Ziva's hand and in turn, she grabs Tim's hand, pulling him behind her onto the dance floor. They trip over each other's feet and only Ziva really has a sense of rhythm, but Tony twirls Ziva under his arm and Tim pulls her into an over dramatic tango and they're laughing like they've never laughed before.

Tali joins them, Johnny and Morgan following close behind and then they each have child sized hands grasping their own, twirling the next generation to the beat.

Tim catches Ziva's eyes and then Tony's, wordlessly asking ' _can you believe this? Can you believe we're here?'_

Tony grins his patented DiNozzo grin and says out loud, "Never doubted it for a second."

**Author's Note:**

> iterally just some best friend trio fluff on a friday night. not much to say about this one except that i hope you enjoy it! let me know what you think :)


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